


The Sea of Red

by Kaylele



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Dreams and Nightmares, Graphic Description, Horror, M/M, Red String of Fate, Sad Ending, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:14:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27533584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaylele/pseuds/Kaylele
Summary: Akaashi doesn't have a soulmate and he's completely fine with that... Or is he really?
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	The Sea of Red

**Author's Note:**

> My life really just got a massive plot twist 🤡 yes I am using that as an excuse for why I haven't posted in forever. Don't judge me

Akaashi didn't have a soulmate but he was fine with that. Most people got their red strings around the age of fifteen or sixteen. Some as late as eighteen or nineteen… but he was twenty six now. It was unlikely that he would ever get his string and even if he did, he probably wouldn't follow it. He liked the way his life was now and he wasn't looking to change it. If he had learned anything from his friends and family, it was that whenever a soulmate came into your life, things always got messy. Not that that was a bad thing. Most people enjoyed the chaos that came with finally finding love. It's just that Akaashi didn't think that it was right for him. He wasn't comfortable sacrificing his peace for a person he didn't even know… who he was unsure would even love him… and besides, it was already too late for that. Maybe if he were younger and less independent then he would consider it, but not now. As far as he knew he didn't have a soulmate and he was fine with that. 

Although, just because he was fine with it, doesn't mean his family was. His mother always scolded him for it even though it really wasn't his fault. 

"No wonder you can't see it, you never leave the house!"  
"You too shy Keiji! Maybe if you went out more you'd find them"  
"You're ruining your eyes with all that paperwork you do! No wonder you can't see it!"  
"You're not even trying!" 

Most of the time Akaashi just brushed off her excuses. Sometimes he laughed though. Regardless of what his mother believed there was no way to "make" the string appear. No amount of socialization or shyness or even blindness would prevent it from showing up. It was just something that happened naturally when it was time. Akaashi didn't have a "time" though and sometimes he wished his mother would realize that. 

It's not like he was the only one either. There were lots of people who didn't have a string and they were all perfectly fine too… well most of them at least. There was one girl in his office that did nothing but cry every time it was brought up. She was a hopeless romantic with dreams of a fairy tale wedding and seven children though… but it's not like she couldn't just date someone else for christ sake! There were lots of groups for people like him. Dating groups, counseling groups, groups dedicated to trying to "fix" it, as if not having one made you broken somehow. He didn't like any of these groups though. All they did was sit around and talk about how sad they were that they didn't have one. Akaashi wasn't sad though. He didn't need a group of strangers to talk to. In fact the only person he actually really talked to about it was his therapist and the only reason he talked to her at all was because of his insomnia and reoccurring nightmares. 

"Is the medication, Dr. Saito prescribed you working well?" His therapist had asked him one day as they sat in her office together. 

The light gray walls and black couch seemed all too familiar now. He's been coming here for too long, he silently thought to himself. Eight years of insomnia and nightmares was too long. 

"Yes, I've been doing better actually." He half lied, keeping his eyes focused on the gold ornament that was sitting on the coffee table between them. "I've been sleeping much longer now." 

Technically it was true. The medicine the doctor had given him was helping him sleep more but it was doing nothing to fix his nightmares. Now instead of waking up at three am in a cold sweat he would be trapped within his own dreams. Unable to run or even look away from the horrible sight that was before him. 

"What about your dreams?" His therapist asked, picking up on his lies, "are they better? ….less vivid?" 

Akaashi shrugged, folding his hands neatly on his lap, "no… but I think I'm getting used to them." 

His therapist was silent for a while as she scribbled something down on her notepad, "I'm not sure how anybody could get used to something that… gruesome." She finally spoke, "but it has been a couple of months so we should revisit it. Tell me, has anything changed within your dream? Is there something new?" 

Akaashi's therapist had always described his dreams as "progressive", meaning that they never changed but new pieces were added every so often. Pieces that made things more clear.. that added to the story so to say. She thought that it all meant something. That if they could collect all the pieces then they could figure out what was causing them. Akaashi didn't believe her at first but over time her theory started to make sense. 

His dream always started off the same. He was looking for something, though he didn't know what. Crossing over bridges and busy streets, going up and over hills and mountains and even making his way through the forest trails. Sometimes the trip feels like hours. Other times it feels like seconds but he always ends up in the exact same spot. He's standing right next to a train track watching as the train approaches in the distance. The sirens that normally go off are broken. There's no warning that it's coming. Out of the corner of his eye he sees a man rushing towards the track. He's tall and muscular with spiky hair and an amazing smile. Every time Akaashi tries to warn him to stop. Every time he tries to look away. Every time he fails… All he can do is sit there and watch as the man gets crushed by the train. His flesh horribly mangled and his blood pouring out of him like a red sea. It's horrid and gruesome and awful but he's unable to look away… not until the dream is over. 

When the dreams first started they were always in black and white and always without sound. Although that didn't make them any less frightening. The first color Akaashi began to see was red. The red flowers on the forest floor, the red blinking lights of the train and of course the red blood… so much red blood. The next colors came slowly after that, blue, then green, then purple… then yellow. Akaashi remembered the day he sat in his therapists office and told her that the man's eyes were a bright shade of yellow. Not many people had yellow eyes, she told him and for a brief moment he thought that they might be special. 

Sounds soon followed colors. The sounds of birds chirping, rustling leaves, babbling brooks, train horns blaring and crowds of people talking. Although nothing shook him to his very core quite like the sound of his own bloodcurdling screams. He always knew he screamed in his dream but he never knew it sounded so awful. It was like nails on a chalkboard. 

As Akaashi laid there, recounting his recent dreams, he realized there was really nothing new or different about them lately. There were all the same colors and sounds as usual. The same happy walk through the forest and the same terrible end. Maybe.. just maybe they had finally gathered all the pieces.. but that didn't seem quite right. It still felt like something was missing. 

Akaashi went home that night unsatisfied. His medicine wasn't making anything better and his dreams were just as awful as ever. For a moment he wondered if any of this was even worth it. Maybe he should just try to find a new therapist and a new doctor.. or maybe just someone who knew what they were doing. He laid down on the couch and turned on the TV to one of his favorite old movies, trying to drown out his own racing thoughts. It wasn't long until he drifted off to sleep, once again getting stuck in his own nightmares. 

His dream started off the same as always as he trudged along the path that he knew lead only to certain death. As soon as he got to the train station something felt off. It felt like something was pulling him towards the tracks, urging him to cross over them but he didn't. Instead he willed himself to stand there while he waited for the mysterious man to show up. Out of the corner of his eye he saw him rushing towards the tracks. His mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. It never did.. and Akaashi wondered if it ever would. 

Akaashi's eyes widened with shock as he noticed something new.. a small, red string tied to one of the man's fingers that was leading him to the tracks. He was so focused on it that he didn't notice the man jumping in front of the train until it was too late. He only saw the carnage for about a second before he woke up in a cold sweat panting heavily. He quickly grabbed his notebook from off the table, ready to write down everything that had happened so he wouldn't forget but as he reached out for it, he noticed something. There, tied to one of his fingers was a red string. His heart nearly stopped when he saw it. 

Akaashi stared down at the string in horror as he nervously chewed on his bottom lip. Carefully, he grabbed the end of it, giving it a small tug. A sigh of relief left his lips when he felt a tug back. Whoever was on the other end of the string wasn't dead. At least… not yet. Akaashi sat criss cross on the couch while he tried to decide who to tell. Obviously his mom would love to know but he wasn't quite sure if he should tell her yet. She might freak out and insist that he go off on some huge journey to try and find them. He could try to tell his therapist but she would probably just lecture him about not taking any initiative about it. Finally he decided to call the only rational person he knew… Kenma. Kenma and him had been friends ever since middle school. He knew all about Akaashi's nightmares and insomnia and his lack of a soulmate. Not to mention his ideas were always fairly rational. Clearly he was the best person to call. 

As soon as Kenma answered the phone, Akaashi told him all about his situation, going into detail about his dream and how he woke up with a soulmate. Kenma listened to his whole story from beginning to end but only had one question on his mind. 

"I don't really see what the big deal is," Kenma shrugged over the phone, "didn't you say you were going to ignore them if you ever got one?" 

"I… yes," Akaashi admitted, "but now… what if something happens? I suppose I'm just worried is all…" 

"You don't really think that guy in your dreams has any connection with this, do you?" 

"...I'm not sure.. maybe" 

"That's ridiculous, Akaashi."

"I know but… what if he does get hurt? What if I could do something to stop it?" 

Kenma sighed, leaning back in his seat. Akaashi could be such a worry wort sometimes. "If you really think that, then why not leave right now?" 

"What are you talking about?" Akaashi asked nervously. 

"If you're so concerned about your soulmate getting hurt, then why not leave right now so you can prevent it?" 

Akaashi took a deep breath, staring down at the string on his finger, "how long does it take to find them?" 

"Usually only two to three days… that is if you're constantly following it." 

Akaashi nodded, suddenly getting a horrible feeling in his stomach, "I'll hurry then." 

"Good luck," Kenma mumbled before hanging up the phone. He wasn't quite sure what Akaashi's therapist was telling him but whatever it was, it didn't seem like it was helping him that much. 

Akaashi quickly packed up everything he needed before practically racing out of his house. He called his work, telling them that he was sick and wouldn't be in for a few days. Luckily, they believed him. He stopped by the bank first, pulling out some of his savings and making sure that he had enough money for the journey. The terrible feeling in his stomach only got stronger as he began to follow the string. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bokuto didn't have a soulmate and he hated that. He had always been jealous of the cute couples who got to go on nice adventures to find the love of their life, or the shy couples who had been too nervous to find each other but eventually became united by fate. There was nothing he wanted more than to have someone to love and care for, for the rest of his life. So you could imagine how heartbroken he was when he realized that the red string was never going to appear. At first he had tried to accept it and move on but that had proved to be extremely difficult. Then he had tried dating other people to try and take his mind off of it, but no matter who he was with, it always felt wrong. Almost like he was cheating on his soulmate who didn't really exist. Or at least that's what he thought. 

On his twentieth birthday, he started having reoccurring dreams about meeting his soulmate. It always takes place at the train station. Their both standing on opposite sides of the tracks with their fingers connected by a long, red string. His soulmate always looks scared, terrified even, though Bokuto isn't sure why. It always ends the same way, with Bokuto running across the tracks to give his soulmate a hug, and everything turning dark. Whenever he tries to ask people what his dreams mean, he always receives the same answers. 

"It's just because you want a soulmate"  
"You want what you can't have"  
"It's just a subconscious desire." 

You could imagine how excited Bokuto was when he woke up on his 27th birthday to find a red string tied around his finger. He almost cried tears of joy when he saw it. For once, everything finally made sense. Everything finally felt right. 

Bokuto jumped out of bed as quickly as he could, throwing on a pair of pants and a shirt. He grabbed a backpack, filling it with everything he thought he needed before running out of his house and down the street. Luckily, he knew exactly which train station his soulmate would be at. It was station four, right next to the old ramen shop. He had seen it all the time in his dreams but had never had an excuse to go there… but now he did. 

It took about three hours for Bokuto to get there but as soon as he did, he sat down on one of the benches and waited for his soulmate to show up. For a while he wondered if he should keep following the string. Maybe meet his soulmate half way.. but that was a dumb idea. He always met his soulmate right here. There was something significant about right here.. he just couldn't place his finger on it. 

After about an hour of waiting he finally saw him on the other side of the track. He looked exactly the same as he did in his dream. Tall, with messy black hair and teal eyes. He looked especially scared and nervous this time as he looked around the station. Bokuto couldn't wait any longer. He stood up from his spot, calling after the other man as he ran across the tracks. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akaashi's heart pounded with fear as he stood by the edge of the tracks, carefully scanning the surrounding area. His soulmate had to be here somewhere. It was just a matter of time before he saw him. Part of him wanted to cross the tracks right now to avoid this whole thing but what if that wasn't the right choice? What if when he crossed he actually ended up on the opposite side of his soulmate? What if when he tried to cross, he got stuck and the train came? What if this wasn't even the right station? A loud 'hey!' pulled Akaashi away from his racing thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his soulmate approaching the tracks. His heart raced so fast it felt like he was dying. 

"STOP!" Akaashi screamed as loud as he could. His body moved before his thoughts did as he ran into the tracks and pushed Bokuto out of the way. 

Bokuto landed on the ground with a soft thud. He groaned softly, rubbing his head as he heard the screams of people around him. He hadn't realized the train was that close. Slowly, he opened his eyes and let out a horrified scream as he saw carnage in front of him. Whatever red string there was, was now shrouded in a sea of red blood.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sorry 🤡


End file.
